Income Total: $1700.00

* $1500 Recurring monthly retirement account distribution
* $150 Swagbucks(cash out to PayPal)
* $50 My Points (cash out to PayPal)

Total Spending: $1513.85

Total Savings: $186.15 (difference between monthly income and monthly spending)

Fixed Expenses:
Verizon bundle (internet, cable, home phone): $160.25
Cell phone: $59.90
HVAC and water heater contract: $27.95
Condo Fee (includes water) $190.00
Health Care: (includes health, dental, vision, prescription plans) $450.90

Variables:
Utilities: $83.70
Gasoline: 0
Groceries: $236.31 (I stocked up on meat, so spending was up a bit)
Health: $70.02 (co-pays, scripts refills, vitamins and personal health care items)
Take Out food: $36.70
Shopping (on-line): $198.12 (see note below)

* Condo is paid in full
* Car is paid in full (2017 Camry)
* No other debt

Shopping: I have a list of things that I need and started purchasing them.

Michelangelo 12-inch skillet with lid. I have been researching new pans, and Lucky Robin mentioned this one in her blog. I love it! Great quality. I plan to buy the 2 smaller size pans from this line in October.

Black out curtains for the guest bedroom. The bedrooms in the condo face the front of the building and have almost floor to ceiling windows. Great for letting in light during the day, but I face the parking lot and there are some lampposts that are pretty bright. I had white shears in there but with my sister and BIL potentially coming for Christmas I needed heavier ones for privacy. I don’t want blinds (too much to clean and expensive for such large windows). These curtains did the trick, true blackouts.

2 new nightshirts. Mine were really worn out

2 Christmas gifts (getting a head start on this)

Restock order from Walmart for some household items (free shipping).

A few years ago, when I was looking for condos there were several things that I knew I wanted and were really must haves. I wanted this to be my forever home, where I could safely age in place for as long as possible.

A top floor, one level, unit (I didn’t want to hear people above me walking around)

An elevator building

A dedicated parking space

A full sized, side by side, washer and dryer in the unit

Central air and heat (owner controlled)

At least a half bath for guests to use (in addition to a master bathroom)

Something newer with lots of light

Open concept living, dining and kitchen area

Decent storage

Well maintained common areas and some green space

A balcony for some outdoor space

A short distance from my brother

It seems like a long list, but I did manage to find something with all those must haves. I knew at some point as I age too many flights of stairs would be a problem, so I really needed a building with an elevator since I wanted to be on the top floor. I originally wanted just a one bedroom, I didn’t want anything too big but could not find a one-bedroom place that had a guest bath, so I wound up with a two bed/two full bath. It's about 1200 square feet. Now, I am glad to have that extra bedroom for when my sister and BIL come to visit.

The only thing it didn’t have was a walk-in shower. Both bathrooms have full tub/shower combinations in them. I knew that eventually I would re-do the master bathroom and have the tub removed and replaced with a walk-in shower with the appropriate grab bars needed for when I am older. I will also have the tile flooring and toilets replaced in both bathrooms. The floor tile is cracking in a few places and I have replaced parts on both toilets so while I have my contractor here, I will just replace them. I plan to use LVT (luxury vinyl tile) on the floors. I am so over tile and grout. The LVT is really beautiful, durable, and easy to clean. I have the money saved for the work, but I’m going to wait a while until I feel more comfortable having workers coming in and out (COVID). It isn’t an urgent project.

Before I moved in, I had the whole place painted and had all the carpeting removed and had hardwood floors installed. The kitchen was in great shape and didn’t need any work. The previous owner had re-done it with all new stainless appliances, new cabinets and counters and a new sink and faucet.

My color palette preference is light grays, creams, beige, light blue, with teal and a few pale-yellow accents here and there for pops of color. My hardwood floors are a dark brown. I like calm, peaceful soothing colors. My friends and family say that my place feels very comfortable and cozy! I feel so happy here and I am very fortunate to have found my forever home.

My brother is in the process of having a small addition built on his house. He went back and forth between moving to something else or staying in his current house and modifying it to make it work better for their needs in retirement. He is having the laundry room moved to the main floor from the basement, adding an additional full bathroom and enlarging a bedroom and closet. This made more sense for them then moving.

Are you planning to age in place and stay in your current home? Remodel? Downsize? Relocate totally to a new state? It’s such a big decision.

The weather in Maryland has been beautiful the last few days! Low humidity, temps in the lower 80’s with a nice gentle breeze. Just perfect. I don’t know if anyone reading is from Colorado, but I saw on the news that they went from 90-degree weather to snow in 24 hours? That’s pretty drastic if true!

Anyway, we took advantage of our nice weather and my brother had a small family cook out on Sunday. We sat outside all day and had fun playing some games and discussing the possibility of a vacation next summer. I don’t want to get my hopes up too high, but it was nice to think about. We’ll see where things are next year.

On Saturday my BF and I met up at the park for a very long walk, then we went to lunch. Our favorite restaurant has outdoor seating and since the weather was so mild it was very comfortable. After lunch we parted ways and I did some grocery shopping then home to complete some chores. In the early evening I went out on my balcony with my book and I was so relaxed I almost fell asleep! I love the fall and can’t wait for it to really kick in.

Today was an at home day. My sister called, and we talked for a very long time. We are still planning for her and her husband to come for a visit at Christmas. I really miss her and hope everything works out. Not much else happening, I’ve been feeling a little down lately, but this weekend cheered me up. It was good to get out and be with my favorite people!